A Single Perfect Rose
by somebadhat
Summary: It's Cuddy's birthday. Her day is going downhill quick, until she finds a gift on her desk.
1. Chapter 1: Flawless

Please leave a review! I'm begging you

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On the morning of Cuddy's 43rd birthday, she walked into her kitchen to find it to be empty. She looked around for her boyfriend Lucas, who was nowhere to be seen. He was a private investigator so sometimes he was there and most times he was not.

Cuddy sighed_. I guess my birthday is going in the 'not' category._

She shrugged it off though, because loneliness was something she was used to. Anyways, Cuddy wasn't the type of person to expect things to be given to her for her birthday. She just tried to spend the day being happy. It was a weekday, so she had to get to work soon. She gathered herself and headed off towards her beloved hospital.

Upon arriving she was greeted with a few birthday wishes. They were mostly from the nurses and doctors she was closest to. She would smile broadly and say thank you, though really she wished she could see Lucas.

Walking to go see Dr. Hourani, he was complaining again, she decided to take the stairwell so she could give Lucas a call in private.

The phone rang five times before Lucas picked up.

"Hey, babe." He answered.

"Hi. I was wondering where you wanted to go out for a date tonight." She smiled.

"A date? What's the occasion?"

Her smile faltered. Was he messing around with her? Did he really forget her birthday?

"It's, uhm, my birthday."

"Are you kidding me? I thought that was April."

"No, October." She said with a slight disappointment in her voice.

"I am so sorry, Lisa. I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"It's okay. Dinner tonight-"

Lucas groaned. "I can't tonight, babe, I'm so close on this case. I promise any other night." She felt her spirits drop even further.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll just tie up loose ends at work and maybe get something at the local bar. Rachel is already spending the night with her favorite play date."

"Okay, I really am sorry."

Cuddy didn't say anything, she just hung up. She'll admit she was a little upset about it. She was looking forward to seeing Lucas, and especially having a nice night out with him. A break from work to just celebrate had been what kept her going all week.

She made her way down to the OR to see what Hourani was fussing about this time.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

Finally after haggling with her neurosurgeon, Cuddy walked back to her office. Hourani was just such a frustrating doctor. He was good at what he did but he assumed he had more power than he did and threatened too much.

There really only was one doctor that could do what they wanted in this hospital.

On top of that, when she was walking through the fourth floor nurse's station she bumped into a young nurse carrying coffee and had it poured down the front of her shirt. It had been scalding hot.

She pushed past the doors of her office and sat on her couch. Cuddy was becoming increasingly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to just stay alone in her office. Her forehead was in her hands.

_Some birthday_, she thought to herself.

Glancing up, she saw a flower on her desk. A rose, just one rose. At first she assumed it was an apology from Lucas, but he wouldn't have had enough time to have flowers delivered and certainly not just one. She stood up, definitely suspicious now.

Cuddy reached forward and picked it up, and she was in awe at its beauty. She looked at the note tied around its stem.

_It doesn't have a single flaw._

_X_

It wasn't signed. Cuddy knew who it was from though. Who else but House? Untying the note slowly, she ran her fingers along the slender stem. The rose thorns had been removed. She brushed her fingertips across the petals, but so lightly. House was right. It was flawless.

She was confused though. She knew House had wanted to be more than just friends, he had made this perfectly obvious to her, but this gesture seemed almost out of character.

When she saw House, she decided, she would ask him about it.

But all day he was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't in the clinic (that was normal), and he wasn't seen in the lobby at all. While she was in the cafeteria she scanned the room for him, coming up empty handed. Eventually she wandered up to his office and neither he nor his team was there.

By the end of the day she was disappointed she wouldn't get to ask him about it. It was about 7:00pm.

As soon as she began to pack up for a night at home alone though, he came into her office. He made such a silent entrance that Cuddy didn't notice him slowly limping in till she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." Cuddy replied. She searched his face before asking, "Have you been avoiding me today?"

He shrugged. "A little."

"The rose was… beautiful." She said. Cuddy looked into his eyes and they had this indescribable moment, almost a mutual understanding. Cuddy wasn't quite sure what the mutual understanding was, but they both understood. She felt it. It really could not be described.

House cleared his throat. "It's not just any rose. None of the petals have flaws." He looked down at the floor of her office before continuing. "It's perfect. Like you." He tapped his cane on the carpet uncomfortably. House looked back up at her. Cuddy was surprised by this.

The truth hit her like a thunderbolt. Cuddy could clearly see House was in love with her.

They looked at each other for a while, till the eye contact had become almost indecent.

"No one's ever given me something like this before. A gift this pure and wonderful."

"I spent a while looking for the right one." He said.

She stood up and began to walk toward him. She wanted to give him a gesture, something, to show him how much this really meant to her. To show him how much _he_ meant to her.

"House-" Just as she began her sentence, Lucas burst through her door loudly. He carried with him a dozen roses.

He brushed past House and put his arm around Cuddy's waist, kissing her temple. She suddenly felt like Lucas was invading her personal space. House continued to keep his gaze meeting hers, but it had a sad twinge to it now.

"I feel terrible, Lisa. I got out of work tonight. The guy I'm trying to catch cheating on his wife was actually with her tonight. So nothing to investigate this time around."

Cuddy smiled warily. She felt as if Lucas had just ruined such a divine moment, because he did.

He handed her the bouquet, and as she reluctantly took it she drew in a breath of surprise. She pierced her finger on a thorn.

"Ouch, I cut my finger." She muttered.

Setting the large bouquet of flowers on her desk, she brought her finger to her mouth. It was bleeding. She glanced up. House had turned around and leaving her office. The moment had passed.

She was vaguely aware of Lucas apologizing again, but she was too occupied in watching House limp across the lobby.

"Lisa?"

"What?" she snapped out of it and looked at him.

"I asked if you wanted a Band-Aid."

"Oh. No thanks, I'll grab one from the clinic on our way out."

Lucas began to tell her about his day, though Cuddy couldn't say she was really listening. She was looking at the rose on her desk, the lone flawless rose, and she thought about how House had taken the time to seek this specific one out for her. How he had removed the thorns for her, and how she loved it more than any of dozens and dozens of flowers anyone else could have tried to give her.

After all, it's the rare man who understands the value of a single perfect rose.

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The first portion took me a long time to get, tell me how you think it turned out.


	2. Chapter 2: Understood

I am very excited about this chapter, and I would love it if you left a comment about it.

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Lucas continued to talk about himself. Things always had to be about Lucas in his mind. After Lucas single handedly destroyed a moment that was so rare and so beautiful for House she was just fed up. Suddenly everything he did got on her nerves. The way he drummed his fingertips on her desk was currently at the top of her list.

Cuddy looked down at small cut on her finger. It was nothing more than a prick but it felt like more. She ran her thumb across her first finger where the skin had torn.

"Lisa? What is up with you today? I can't get a single word out of you."

"Sorry." She said distantly.

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No."

"What's wrong?" He drew out each word to be slow skeptically, scratching his beard.

Cuddy had no idea what she was going to say before she said it. She ran continued to run her thumb over her cut. As she looked at the huge bunch of flowers on her desk that she realized she didn't want, the words fumbled out on their own.

"We need to break up."

"Excuse me?" He asked. She said it kind of fast but Lucas heard her loud and clear. He just hoped he heard wrong.

"We need to b-"

"No, I got that part, but why? Is it because I forgot your birthday?" Lucas held out his hands apologetically. "I swear I'm sorry about that."

"It's not that, not really. It's the fact that we're just not compatible. At the end of the day you know it's true."

"We were great together, Lisa, and you know it. What's changed?" Lucas was genuinely confused. One moment she can't wait to see him and the next she wants to end things? It didn't add up.

"The way I feel has changed. This isn't what I want anymore."

Lucas suddenly zeroed in on something on her desk. Cuddy followed his line of sight and saw he was looking at the rose House gave her. The rose actually looked lonesome on its own.

"Who gave you that rose? That one there." He pointed at it.

"It's not important, Lucas. Look, I'm sorry, but it's over. We're over."

Lucas was ignoring her though, and the hurt in his eyes was prominent. So prominent that Cuddy didn't want to look at him because it hurt herself.

"House was just in here? He give you that?" Everything Lucas said was in question form now.

Cuddy sighed. For someone who investigated other people's lives for a living he sure put two and two together slowly. He walked in on her talking with House, with the rose in her _hand_. And Lucas was oblivious to it all.

She pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yeah."

His eyebrows were knit together and all the bewilderment and pain showed in the lines of his face and gleam in his eyes. They were slightly watery. He was thinking things over.

His lips drew together that looked like the beginning of a 'wh' sound. Maybe he was going to say 'what?', maybe he was going to ask why.

He gestured to it with his right hand. "So does that have anything to do with it? He gives you one freaking rose and suddenly you're breaking up with me?"

Cuddy didn't know how to answer. "I really think you need to leave. I'll get your things that are at my house to you as soon as I can."

"Please, just tell me you aren't leaving me for _him_." He said it like that would be degrading to him. Cuddy wasn't leaving him for House but the fact that Lucas thought it would be cheapening to him made her furious. She wanted to tell Lucas that House was twice the man he was, but she knew it would obviously be an overreaction.

She cleared her throat. "Please leave."

Lucas looked at the floor of her office and shook his head with disappointment.

"Okay." He said. "I'll miss you." He tried not to meet her eyes, humiliated.

Cuddy walked towards him, and held out the bouquet of a dozen worthless flowers. He looked at them, and then locked eyes with Cuddy. She looked sure in her decision. He gave her a sad smile and took them from her. His arms swung limply by his sides and he walked out of Lisa Cuddy's hospital feeling melancholia.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

Cuddy did feel guilty about the way she ended things with Lucas. He was trying to apologize and she'll admit it was out of the blue. For her as well, she sort of decided in the moment. She may have felt guilty about how it was carried out, but she knew she did not regret it.

It was only 8:00, House was probably still working on his case. She vaguely remembered hearing about an eleven year old girl.

Cuddy went to his office and saw House sitting at his desk with the office lights off. The glass door was already open so she just walked in. House seemed to be staring off into space, probably trying to solve some puzzle, save another life.

She tapped her knuckle against the glass to announce her presence.

"Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

House nodded. "Yeah." He leaned back into his chair. Cuddy came forward and settled into one of the seats in front of his desk.

They were very silent for a moment. "I just broke up with Lucas." House looked at her, probing her face almost. She offered a weak smile.

"What for? He was just in there giving you flowers and kisses on the cheek."

Cuddy shrugged. "I guess the gig was up for me. I couldn't keep pretending it was what I wanted. Telling myself that I loved him wasn't gonna last me forever."

House nodded slowly.

"It never really does."

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't last long, convincing yourself to believe something that's not true." He was going to tack on that he knew because he'd been denying his feelings for her for years, but chose to leave that out.

"Yeah." Cuddy had always known House was insightful and shared his insights on few occasions, but every time she was surprised by it.

House had become absent again, his eyes boring unblinking into his carpet. Something was undeniably on his mind but Cuddy decided to leave it. Instead they sat together in his office silently. Another thing that shocked Cuddy was that it wasn't awkward.

She expected it to be, but it wasn't. They had been sitting in his office quietly for some time when House spoke up.

"My patient died. Lila Meijer."

Her eyes softened. "House." she said softly. "I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes when she said his name. "Her body gave out before I could figure out what it was."

Lila Meijer. House knew her name. This little girl wasn't just a file to him. He never bothered with details about patients, with things like their names. Not unless they meant something. This poor, dead child had earned House's respect somewhere throughout her time at Princeton Plainsboro.

Cuddy didn't try to tell House it would be okay, or that it wasn't his fault. She didn't try to console him because that wasn't what he wanted.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" she asked in a low voice. He nodded slowly.

House opened his eyes and she could see all the sadness there, none of it being hidden behind hard remarks or bitterness. They focused on each other for a moment, a perfect moment, and anything that needed to be said had been said in that look. Cuddy realized this mutual understanding she had felt earlier, that indescribable moment, could be in fact described very precisely. Cuddy and House understood each other. It was plain and simple and it was the truth.

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Thanks for reading! Review please!:)

-Tiff


	3. Chapter 3: Salvation

Not a single word had been uttered as House and Cuddy sat in his office together. There was no small talk made and they were glad of that. The desire to be quiet can sometimes be overwhelming.

Cuddy watched House stare at the ceiling, the lines on his forehead etched deeply as he tried to understand why. What went wrong? What did he miss? Could she still be alive had he caught something earlier, played less games?

She knew those would be the things on his mind right now.

Cuddy didn't spend that much time thinking about herself, really. To her surprise, the fact that her and Lucas were over didn't seem to break her up in the slightest. She didn't feel sad or lonely knowing she was without him. He must not have meant that much to her if it was this easy.

She looked down at her phone to see the time was 12:00. Midnight. They stayed here for four hours. She stood up, and House followed her with his eyes.

"Let's go home." She said.

Her voice was hardly audible, somewhere between a whisper and talking. It was peaceful. House only nodded, and brought himself to his feet.

Together they walked out his office slowly and down to the elevator at the end of the hallway. They rode down to the lobby floor noiselessly. As they walked to the doors, the sound of House's cane against the flooring made a rhythmic beat that Cuddy found herself walking to.

Finally when they pushed past the front doors of the hospital and into the icy wind, Cuddy did something she did not expect to do. She reached out and she held House's hand. Instead of pulling away like Cuddy had expected, he held onto it like it was his goddamned salvation.

They intertwined their fingers so they fit perfectly together. Like puzzle pieces, even. He squeezed her hand as they walked through the parking lot, and as he did so, she squeezed back.

Arriving at House's car, they stood for a moment. Waiting there, looking each other over, they didn't know what the standard protocol goodbye was in this situation. He turned away from her and opened his car door, but he did not get in.

He just stayed there with it open.

House turned around to look at Cuddy again, and he opened his mouth to talk.

"Thanks for…" and he trailed off.

Wait a second, wait a second, wait just one second. Was House thanking Cuddy for being with him?

"You're welcome House."

They both said what was supposed to be a goodbye but they both remained planted in their spot.

Cuddy leaned forward and kissed House on the mouth softly, letting it linger. The kiss was tentative and slow, as if it were experimental. House brought his hands to cup Cuddy's face. His thumb along her flushed cheek.

After a moment they pulled away, just enough that their foreheads were still touching.

House's eyes were still closed.

When he opened them she stared at his bright blue eyes. She saw warmth there that would remain unseen by the naked eye. Cuddy knew House enough to see it when it was there, and right now it was all but radiating from him. He was vulnerable.

"Bye, Cuddy."

She watched House climb into his car and drive out of the lot. She went to her own car and sat there for a moment. That had been some kiss. She brought her fingertips to her lips, and realized she was acting like a teenager who just had her first good kiss. If she were being completely honest though, it was the best kiss she had in a long time.

It did not go past this one kiss though. If the circumstances had been different the kiss would have gone much farther.

They both knew tonight was not the night, though.

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I know this one was a little shorter than all the others, but I like the way it went. Tell me what you think. My muse is telling me to end it here, but what does it actually know after all?

-Tiff


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